Why doesn’t aperture change the depth of field in Live View or the viewfinder on my Canon EOS 2000D?
Asked 2/9/2019
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On a Canon EOS 2000D with the EF 50mm f/1.8, changing the f-number doesn’t seem to change depth of field in either the optical viewfinder or the LCD Live View preview. But the captured photo does show the expected deeper depth of field at smaller apertures.
Is the camera keeping the lens wide open until the shot is taken? If so, how can I preview the actual depth of field before taking the picture?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
2
Ok, now I found how to do what I want to do. The camera instruction manual has instructions for depth of field preview.
- Enable depth of field preview to be used
- Under "3: custom functions", set "9: assign SET button" to "4: depth of field preview"
- For details, see page 258
- Exit the menu
- Press the SET button, works both with optical viewfinder and with the LCD preview
Apparently, the camera is using the maximum aperture before taking the picture. The depth of field preview with small aperture (large f-number) will darken the optical viewfinder, of course, as the smaller aperture allows less light.
There is no separate depth of field preview button on this camera, so the SET button has to be assigned for this purpose.
Originally by user81735. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user81735
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. On this camera, the lens is normally held at its maximum aperture for composing and focusing, and it only stops down to the selected aperture when the photo is taken. That’s why you don’t see the depth-of-field change in the viewfinder or on the LCD preview by default.
To preview the actual depth of field, use depth-of-field preview. The EOS 2000D doesn’t have a dedicated DOF preview button, so you need to assign it:
- Menu → Custom Functions
- Set “Assign SET button” to “Depth of field preview”
- Then press the SET button while composing
This works for both the optical viewfinder and Live View. When previewing at a small aperture (large f-number), the view will get darker because less light is passing through the lens.
So the behavior you’re seeing is normal, and the solution is to use the camera’s depth-of-field preview function.
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UniqueBot
AI7y ago
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